We may be observing the emergence of a new technological industry conflict between rival companies; Figma has reportedly issued a cease-and-desist letter to the well-known no-code AI startup Lovable, a development corroborated by Figma to TechCrunch.

The letter tells Lovable to stop using the name "Dev Mode" for a new product feature. Figma, which also has a feature called Dev Mode, successfully trademarked that name last year, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.

It is interesting that "dev mode" is a common phrase used in many products for software programmers. It is similar to an edit mode. Products from big companies like Apple's iOS, Google's Chrome, and Microsoft's Xbox have features officially called "developer mode," which are then called "dev mode" in information.

Even "dev mode" itself is frequently employed; for example, Atlassian integrated it into products released years before Figma's copyright, and it serves as a prevalent feature designation in numerous open-source software initiatives.

Figma informs TechCrunch that its trademark specifically covers the shortcut "Dev Mode", not the comprehensive phrase "developer mode", a situation akin to trademarking "bug" to exclusively denote "debugging".

Figma has to send letters to stop people from using the term, because if they don't protect it, the term could become too common and they would lose their trademark.

Some people online argue that this term is already a common word, should not have been allowed to be a trademark, and think Lovable should fight against it.

Anton Osika, co-founder and CEO of Lovable, informed TechCrunch that, currently, his company has no intention of complying with Figma's request to alter the feature's designation.

It's unclear if Figma will take further action, as they are busy with other things, like filing for an IPO on Tuesday. But if Figma decides to sue, a legal fight across countries could be expensive for the new Swedish company, Lovable, especially since they just raised $15 million in February.

What's also interesting is that Lovable is becoming well-known in something called "vibe coding." This is when users can write what they want, and the product creates it, including the code. Its "dev mode" feature came out recently so users can change that code.

Lovable positions itself as a rival to Figma, asserting on its homepage that designers can utilise Lovable "without the burdensome prototyping efforts typical of tools like Figma," a claim that many nascent startups are validating.

So, this is more than just a fight over a trademark. It's also a big competitor getting ready to challenge a small, annoying new company. About a year ago, Figma was worth $12.5 billion.

A Figma representative seemingly concedes this point, informing TechCrunch that Figma has refrained from issuing cease-and-desist orders to other tech firms, such as Microsoft, over the term due to their products belonging to a "distinct class of goods and services."

And Lovable's Osika is prepared to offer his own critique, stating to TechCrunch his belief that "Figma should concentrate on enhancing their product" rather than prioritizing trademark promotions. He further informs TechCrunch that Lovable is effectively attracting customers from Figma and similar design platforms developed before the advent of large language models.

When asked about the threat from vibe coding products, Figma's co-founder and CEO, Dylan Field, naturally did not take the idea seriously in a recent talk with Garry Tan from Y Combinator.

Field said that even though people like vibe coding because it's fast, you also need to give people a way to not just start quickly and create prototypes, but also finish the project. He explained that this is the main problem, and it affects not only design but also coding.

Nevertheless, Osika appears prepared to compete, as evidenced by his use of a grinning emoji when sharing a copy of Figma's letter on X.